Admittance Control of the Intelligent Assistive Robotic Manipulator for Individuals with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: A Proof-of- Concept Design

Abstract

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is characterized by progressive muscle weakness that leads to the loss of independence and imposes the demands of costly and intrusive assistive support and personal care for daily living tasks. Current upper extremity assistive devices are significantly limited in their ability to suitably restore functionality and improve quality of life for individuals with DMD. This paper presents the design of a proof-of-concept prototype demonstrating a novel approach to augment upper extremity function in individuals with DMD that involves the implementation of an admittance control interface for the iArm robot. The time delay inherent to the iArm firmware causes instability in the admittance control system. If the time delay is addressed, admittance control will allow for intuitive operation and ensure comfortable and safe interaction between the human operator and the hardware. Future work will assess the effectiveness of using admittance control for upper extremity assistive robotic manipulators to increase active range of motion and allow independence for activities of daily living for individuals with DMD. Keywords: Admittance control, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, robotic manipulator, upper extremity. Read more →